Internet protocol assists for high performance LAN connections

ABSTRACT

A method of dynamically providing a host information about all functions supported by a communication platform provided in a computing network environment is presented. The computing network environment is also provided with a gateway device that is electronically connected at least to one initiating host and at least one receiving host, besides the associated communication platform. During an initialization step all functions commercially available on all communication platforms are inputted in a special function table. Then the particular associated platform is queried and the functions provided in the computing environment is determined and inputted also in the function table. All alterations and modifications to the availability of old functions or addition of new functions are also monitored and inputted in the table. In this manner any host connected to the gateway device can obtain a list of all available functions supported by the communication platform at any one time and if desired, even any such host can chose a function from this list of available functions.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to an expanded controlcommand interface that can support network connections to gatewaydevices without dealing with configuration complexities.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Personal computers are gaining widespread popularity as the state oftechnology is improving. Over the past few decades, their utilizationhas profilerated both for personal purposes and for use in business andscientific communities. Establishing good computing communications havebecome a necessity as individual users try to connect to one another forexchange of information, and to larger computers to take advantage oftheir higher processing capabilities. This need to communicate betweendifferent computing hosts or nodes have evolved into the creation ofdistributed networks. A distributed network is an aggregate ofindividual systems that are connected to one another electronically.Distributed networks can be organized in a number of ways, eitherremotely extending over great distances using wide area networks orWANs, or locally through the use of a Local Area Network, better knownas a LAN.

A LAN usually consists of a number of nodes or hosts located within anoffice, a building or at other close proximations. Being a type of adistributed network, a LAN loosely couples processors and workstations.Generally, workstations on a LAN do not share a central memory but doshare common servers. In this way a LAN increases the power andflexibility of workstations by enabling them to access shared datawithout jeopardizing the security of each individual resource.

A LAN system that has been in wide use in recent years is produced byNovell, Inc. of Provo, Utah. In a Novell system, a LAN device driver isimplemented on top of the local operating systems to be coupled anddevice driver commands at the LAN workstations are directed to and fromthe workstations onto the LAN to the target servers.

As networks have grown and particularly as LANs have come intowidespread use, many businesses and organizations have faced thenecessity of interconnecting and managing a confederation of networksand LANs. Each network itself can in turn comprises of a plurality oflogical networks which in turn run independent and different networkingprotocols. The challenge has not become only to interconnect local areanetworks to one another, but to do so and still provide remote serveraccess through WANs or other devices.

Three basic methods are now available to interconnect both local andremote area networks to one another as to provide wide used access andremote information exchange capabilities. These three methods are 1)bridges or data-link devices that connect similar networks together; 2)routers that perform routing services by maintaining a routing table ineach host; and 3) gateway devices that carry out protocol conversionsand other connectivity functions. Typically, a device driver for thegateway is provided with modems or other physical ports that can belinked to switched communication WANs.

A gateway facility allows the interconnection of multiple independentlycontrolled communication networks to one another in a way that logicalunits in the network can communicate with one another without anychanges to the network. A logical network runs a single networkingprotocol, but a processing organization can be composed of a dozen oflogical networks running six or seven networking protocols. A gatewayprovides transparent interconnection of these single networkingprotocols, so that a single multiport transport network is formed.

In the existing mechanisms, gateway devices are implemented on top ofthe LAN device drivers as a switched communications device interface.The user initialization of the communication link-up procedure redirectsthe user hardware commands to the gateway. The communications interfacein the gateway driver then institutes and maintains the switchedcommunications link, diverting hardware resources of the driver to doso. The connection and access procedures are then executed using thegateway ports and modems in order to link the user's system with theswitched communications network. A remote connection is establishedthrough the LAN/WAN which sets up a point to point configuration throughthe port along the communication line between the user and thecommunications device in use.

The procedure described above have many complexities associated with it.The complexities connected with the configuration assessment of gatewaydevices is an on-going concern of the designers of such devices today.These configuration concerns contributes to many limitations that existwith today gateway devices. These limitations often make theinterconnection of networks running different protocols non-transparent.Because many of the present gateways are transport layerprotocol-specific, it is possible that a gateway cannot interconnect anetwork running for example a TCP/IP protocol and a network running theSNA protocol. Furthermore, a variety of gateway devices have beendeveloped which connect TCP/IP to different operating system and giveconnectivity to the LAN/WAN environments, but each time theconfiguration has to be redefined and reassessed before connectivity isaccomplished successfully. Furthermore, each gateway device can usuallyimplement only a subset of the TCP/IP functions. Most currently existinggateway devices do not support many of the TCP/IP functions andperformance problems have been encountered due to increased bandwidth ofthe LAN/WAN arenas. One of the communication protocols used tocommunicate with the gateway is LCS or LAN Channel Station. A controlcommand interface exists in the LCS protocol that requires all theconfiguration information to be set prior to the TCP/IP connectsequence. Nonetheless, the control interface does not have a commandsequence to enable the use of the TCP/IP functions which have beenimplemented in the gateway devices. To reduce the complexity ofconfiguring gateway devices, an expanded control command interface isneeded.

This application is being filed with the following related applicationson the same date--attorney dockets : P09-97-097; P09-97-127; P09-97-128;P09-97-129; P09-97-130; P09-97- 139; P09-97-140; P09-97-141; P09-97-142;P09-97-143; and P09-97-144.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of dynamically providing a host information about all functionssupported by a communication platform provided in a computing networkenvironment. The computing network environment also has a gateway devicebesides the associated communication platform which can be of anyspecific type, as well as at least having an initiating host and atleast one receiving host that are electronically connected to thegateway device. The method presented comprising the steps of firstperforming an initialization step during which all possible functionsprovided by any type of communication platform that is commerciallyavailable is specified and stored in a special function table accessibleby the gateway device. During a querying step the particular functionssupported by associated communication platform present in the computingenvironment is determined and identifying in the special function tableagainst all possibly available commercial functions.

When new functions are provided or deleted in the computing environment,all such changes and alterations are dynamically monitoring and inputtedin the special function table so that the table is kept updated with allavailable functions at all times. In this manner any host connected tothe gateway device can obtain a list of all available functionssupported by the communication platform at any one time and if desired,even any such host can chose a function from this list of availablefunctions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of thespecification. The invention, however, both as to organization andmethod of practice, together with further objects and advantagesthereof, may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustration of a computing environment;

FIG. 2 is another block diagram illustration of a computing environmenthaving a gateway device and a plurality of hosts;

FIG. 3 is another illustration of the block diagram shown in FIG. 2 witharrows indicating the existing flow of information;

FIG. 4 is another illustration of the block diagram shown in FIG. 2 witharrows indicating the flow of information according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is yet another block diagram illustration of a computingenvironment providing different functions as supported by theenvironment;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of blocks of data grouped together; and

FIG. 7A and 7B is an illustration of data flow to and from the gatewaydevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example showing the connection of largecomputing network environment, such as one provided by a large mainframecomputer, to a Local Area Network (LAN) and the Internet. The largerectangle in FIG. 1 shown at 100 is a computing network environment suchas an IBM S/390 computer. The operating system(s) for the computingenvironment is shown as 110 and can be one of many available operatingsystems such as OS/390 or MVS/ESA. At the next layer, shown at 120, thesoftware products and applications reside, some examples being DB2, TSO,CICS, and IMS. The Common Gateway Interface or CGI is shown at 130 andinterfaces with the communication devices such as an IBM InternetConnection Server, to access VTAM (shown at 142), TCP/IP (shown at 144),IPX (shown at 146) or other similar communication protocols. The networkconnection to the LAN and/or Internet (shown at 160-174) can beaccomplished by means of any indicated communications controller or suchas an Open Systems Adapter connection, hereinafter OSA. The networkconnection from the computing environment servers can be a channel (150)or an integrated platform (155) connection. An Open System Adapter or anOSA shown at 158 is an integrated connectivity platform and a product ofIBM Corp. of Armonk. OSA provides direct attachment to token ring (shownat 172), ethernet (shown at 174), FDDI's or fiber distributed datainterfaces, and ATM (not shown). Multiple host systems can be accessedfrom a single workstation through a single OSA LAN/WAN port. Integratedon the OSA card is a channel adapter, a control unit and LAN adapters.OSA supports a variety of communication protocols, namely SNA/APPN,TCP/IP and IPX. OSA allows the sharing of applications and/or LAN portsamong logical partitions.

There are many protocols used to connect the communication stacks, forexample an MVS TCP/IP Stack to a channel attached platform or anintegrated platform such as the OSA. One such platform protocol is knownas an LCS or LAN Channel Station. LCS provides an efficient method oftransferring data across the I/O subsystems by blocking multiple LANframes together in one common chain. In the following sections, theteachings of the present invention may be described in reference with asystem using OSA and LCS to communicate with the MVS operating system ina setup using TCP/IP. However, the workings of the present invention isnot limited to the use of OSA, LCS, TCP/IP and MVS and any suchreference will be used for demonstrative purposes only.

A variety of gateway devices have been developed which connect to TCP/IPand give connectivity to LAN/WAN environment. In the existing systems,when a host is communicating with a LAN or other similar networks aMedia Access Control Header, also known as a MAC Header, along with theLAN type, has to be first established so that the host and the LANunderstand what kind of device and at what address the communication isbeing determined to address the particular needs of one another.Building a MAC header is not an easy task. In a large communicatingenvironment, each time the host and LAN devices communicate a MAC Headerhas to be created which can be both inefficient in terms of time andmemory consumption. Each time communication is to be establishedinformation including the device(s) address on both the sending andreceiving ends, MAC header, LAN type, device type, protocol versioningand the like has to be exchanged. This process requires substantialspending of both time and memory. The present invention, however,introduces a concept which makes the formation of MAC headers andproviding of such aforementioned information each time between theinitiating host and receiving device obsolete. This will save latency,memory capacity and introduces efficiency on memory moves especially onthe initiating host's side. The host no longer has a requirement to knowany LAN/WAN specific information.

FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of the present invention. Originatinghosts A and B shown at 210 and 212 are connected to a gateway device,preferably an integrated gateway device such as an OSA and shown at 220.The destination hosts C and D shown at 240 and 242 are also connectedvia the LAN shown at 230 to the gateway device. In the existing systemswhen originating hosts A and B try to establish communication withdestination hosts C and D, the appropriate MAC Header has to be formedfirst for each communication. Another existing limitation in the presentsystem is that if host A is trying to communicate with host B, theinformation has to travel from host A into the gateway device and ontothe LAN as depicted by the arrows shown in FIG. 3 at 350 before beingtransformed to Host B. The present invention, however, provides for atechnique so that the information from Host A can be provided to Host Bwithout going to the LAN at all as depicted in FIG. 4 and indicated bythe arrows shown at 460.

In the present invention whenever each host gets connected to thegateway device, it sends the required address information as anconfiguration command to the gateway device during an initialhandshaking at the onset of establishing communication with the gatewaydevice. It is the gateway device itself that uses the configurationcommand and controls the communication from that point on. Referringback to FIG. 2, destination hosts C and D continuously are aware of theIP addresses and requirements of the gateway device. Destination hosts Cand D obtain the destination MAC addresses of initiating hosts A and Bdirectly from the gateway device, not from Hosts A and B. Hosts A and Bhave no knowledge of the media specific information or addressresolution. Hosts C and D only know about the gateway device address. Inother words hosts C and D only know hosts A and B through the gatewaydevice. The same is true about hosts A and B in that they are not awareof independent existence of C and D except through the use of thegateway device. As a consequence, there is no need to define the type ofdevice or the LAN type and protocol versioning each time thecommunication is being established. In the present invention there aretables existing in the gateway device that are used to make the deviceaware of all the host/LAN/WAN connections and their special needs. Everytime, for example host A is trying to communicate with host C, thegateway device searches in its table of addresses to find the address ofA and C so that communication is carried out successfully. But thegateway device is also aware, through the use of its previously storedinformation of the type of LAN that is connected to device C, anylimitations and particular needs that device C has as well as the typeof communication protocol needed for device A to communicate with deviceC. Every time a LAN or host is being newly added, the present inventionthrough an initialization step introduces the device and stores anypertinent information that is needed for further communications. Fromthat point on, once the host becomes connected to the gateway device,the gateway device remains aware of all its requirements. The gatewaydevice also checks the availability and existence of the deviceconnections and their workability, at intervals to monitor and ensurethat the device is still available. If the device is no longer in use,the gateway device makes the appropriate alterations to the table(s) inquestion.

In the existing systems there is a configuration file attached to eachcommunication platform that controls all configuration information. Itis the responsibility of the user to keep this configuration fileupdated. Any new addition or deletion of hosts must be inputted by theuser and there is no way that modifications and alterations can behandled automatically. The present invention, however, as explainedearlier dynamically and automatically handles alterations, additions andmodifications to the configuration through the use of commands explainedin detail below and through the use of specially accessed tables.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the workings of the present invention asexplained by one embodiment. The host and its operating system andapplications is shown at 500 and 501 respectively. The IP protocols areshown at 502 (IP) and TCP and UDP at 504 and 506, respectively. TheTCP/IP or UDP/IP functions available are shown at 550--ARP, 552--InboundTCP checksum, 554--IP fragmentation/reassembly, 556--broadcastfiltering, 558--IP multicast, 560--Inbound UDP checksum and 562--IPversion support (Version 6 is used as way of example). The communicationprotocol options presented at 550-562 are merely for demonstrationpurposes and it is possible to add or modify this list according to eachparticular setup and mechanism. For example in an alternate embodimentof the invention described below, SAP and RIP functions are among thefunctions that are supported. The LAN connection is shown at 580 and thegateway connection at 530.

In such setups, usually a control command interface exists in thegateway device to allow TCP/IP or other protocols to connect to thegateway device in order to begin data transfers. However, this controlcommand interface requires all the configuration information to be setprior to the TCP/IP connect sequence. Furthermore, the control interfacedoes not have a command sequence to enable the use of the TCP/IPfunctions which have been implemented in the gateway device. The TCP/IPprogram product running on such operating systems as MVS and VM/VSE havebeen developed by a number of companies. But many of today's TCP/IPimplementations have encountered performance problems due to theincreased bandwidth of the LAN/WAN arenas. To try and improve the MVSand other similar operating system's performance using TCP/IP or othercommunication protocols, various TCP/IP functions have been identifiedwhich could better be implemented in a gateway device which has LAN/WANconnectivity. Some of these functions include ARP assist, TCP and IPchecksum calculations, broadcast filtering and IP fragmentation andreassembly. To reduce the complexity of configuring the gateway devices,the present invention introduces an expanded control command interface.This will allow gateway devices to implement most TCP/IP functions andprovide means for determining which TCP/IP functions are supported bythe gateway device, if any.

The present invention provides for an expanded control command interfaceto reduce the complexity of gateway device configurations and addressthe limitations caused by providing a MAC header. A new subset ofcontrol commands have been developed which can be used to reduce suchconfiguration complexities. These fall into three basic categories.

The Set IP Address function basically sets up the IP address at STARTUPtime, instead of configuration time. In this way each time a TCP/IPsession has to be initialized, configuration needs not to bereestablished, therefore reducing the complexity of configuring thedevice and dynamically configuring the new IP sessions.

Query IP Assist function allows the TCP-UDP/IP to query the channelattached device to determine which TCP-UDP/IP functions are implementedin the device. This will allow the ability to determine which functionsif any it wishes to use on the gateway device. So referring back to FIG.1, all functions shown at 150-162 may not be available. Rather only asubset of 150, 152 and 154 may be available. If the user requires the IPmulticast, for example, which is not available the Query IP Assist willallow the user to determine this before further processing time iswasted. Because of its flexibility, the Query IP Assist function can beselected as desired to either work in conjunction with the SET IPAddress function or with SET IP Assist function.

The Set IP Assist function will tell the channel attached device whichTCP-UDP/IP functions are supported and available to be activated. Thisallows TCP-UDP/IP to individually select which functions it desires touse. Referring back to FIG. 1, the user may only want to selectbroadcast filtering for example from the menu of available functionsshown at 152-162.

As a consequence, as explained earlier, since the hosts really only knoweach other through the gateway device, and the gateway device throughits port-sharing tables controls and monitors all the configurationinformation, when Host A wants to communicate with Host B, (FIGS. 2-4),Host Ads data does not require to go all the way to the LAN before beingtransmitted to Host B as in the existing systems. Routing between A andB is direct and without the extra step of involving the LAN. Thisrouting mechanism can be implemented in a loosely coupled environment,such as a Sysplex, for sending any type of data between any two hostsand especially without involving any LAN/WAN connections.

SET IP ADDRESS

The Set IP Address command is used to associate an IP address with aspecific user session. The command is initiated by the user. Once thecommand is received, the gateway device quickly searches its existingport-sharing tables to see if the particular IP address is included ornot. If there is a match found, that means that the particular devicehas been formerly identified. A complete IP data match also indicatesthat there are no alterations or modifications to be made. However if nomatches are found for the IP address, the information concerning theparticular IP address, the application using the gateway device from theparticular host and the information concerning the port type and subnetmask is obtained from the IP datagram and configuration information andused to build a new entry in the port-sharing table to be used for allfuture communications. The MTU or maximum transmission Unit size is alsodetermined. The MTU is the maximum data size allowable for processing.

The following tables depicts the information that is obtained from theIP datagram and configuration information, and the information returnedto the host and/or established to be used for future communications.FIGS. 7A and 7B show this exchange of information flow to and from thegateway. While FIG. 7A shows this exchange for the following tablesrepresented in this section, FIG. 7B is a similar counterpart showingthe flow for the alternate embodiment as described below.

Table 1A is composed of the information obtained at the onset of SETIPAddress command and Table 1B comprises of the returned information.

                                      TABLE 1A                                    __________________________________________________________________________    SETIP Command Structure                                                       __________________________________________________________________________     B1                                                                               00                                                                               nnnn                                                                              0000                                                                              LT                                                                               LN                                                                               CNT                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              VER                                                                               IP Addr                                                                           Subnet Mask                                                                         MTU                            0  1  2   4   6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                        //--                                                                          __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        nnnn  Sequence Number Field - two byte field containing a S/390                     integer sequence counter. Each command initiator maintains its own            sequence count, which starts at zero for the first command, and is            serially incremented (by one) for each subsequent command. The                response string will contain the same sequence number echoed back.      LT    Adapter type code - one byte field indicating the adapter type                code.                                                                         1 = Ethernet                                                                  2 = Token Ring                                                                7 = FDDI                                                                LN    Relative adapter number - one byte field indicating the relative              adapter                                                                       number.                                                                 VER   2 byte field - version supported for this command (valid entries              are                                                                           4 (IP V4) or 6 (IP V6)).                                                CNT   Count Field - 2 byte field (unsigned integer) contains the number             of                                                                            parameters that are included in the command data field.                 IP Addr                                                                             IP address of the connection. This is a 4 or 16 byte field                    depending                                                                     on the value of the version id. (V4 = 4 bytes, V6 = 16 bytes).          Netmask                                                                             The TCP/IP Netmask of this connection. This is a 4 or 16 byte                 field                                                                         depending on the value of the version id. (V4 = 4 bytes, V6 = 16              bytes).                                                                 MTU   The Maximum transmittal unit size (MTU) of this connection. This a            4 byte field stating the max frame size that can be transmitted on            this                                                                          LAN/WAN segment.                                                        __________________________________________________________________________

                                      TABLE 1B                                    __________________________________________________________________________    SETIR Command Structure                                                       __________________________________________________________________________     00                                                                               nnnnn                                                                             RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               CNT                                                                               ASTS                                                                              ASTE                                                                              VER                                                                               DATA                                         1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                            //--                                                                          __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        nnnnn                                                                              Sequence Number Field - two byte fleld containing a S/390                     integer sequence counter. Each command initiator maintains its own            sequence count, which starts at zero for the first command, and is            serially incremented (by one) for each subsequent command. The                response string will contain the same sequence number echoed back.       RC   Command return code. 2 byte field indicating the return code                  status.                                                                       RC values:                                                                                       Data Length                                           Value    Description                                                                              CNT #                                                                             (in bytes)                                            0x0000   Success    0   0                                                     0x0001   Command Not                                                                              0   0                                                              Supported                                                            0xE001   Data Field Mismatch                                                                      0   0                                                              (V6 type with V4 data                                                         field size or vice versa)                                            0xE002   Invalid MTU Size                                                                         1   4                                                                             (returns Max MTU                                                              size that we can                                                              support on this                                                               connection)                                           0xE003   Invalid LAN Type                                                                         1   4                                                              or LAN Number  (returns LAN Type                                                             and LAN Number)                                       0xE004   IP Address table                                                                         1   4                                                              full           (returns max number                                                           of connections we                                                             support. Currently                                                            MAX = 16)                                             LT   Adapter type code - one byte field indicating the adapter type                code.                                                                         1 = Ethernet                                                                  2 = Token Ring                                                                7 = FDDI                                                                 LN   Relative adapter number - one byte field indicating the relative              adapter                                                                       number.                                                                  VER  2 byte field - version supported for this command (valid entries are          1                                                                             (SNA), 4 (IP V4), or 6 (IP V6)).                                         ASTS 16 bit field - TCP/IP Assists supported (information valid only in            reply                                                                         frames). The bit fields are definedas follows (bit on signifies               supported)                                                                    Assist List:                                                             Arp Processing    bit 0 (0x0001)                                              Inbound Checksum Support                                                                        bit 1 (0x0002)                                              Outbound Checksum Support                                                                       bit 2 (0x0004)                                              IP Fragmentation/Reassembly                                                                     bit 3 (0x0008)                                              Filtering         bit 4 (0x0010)                                              IP V6 Support     bit 5 (0x0020)                                              ASTE 16 bit field - TCP/IP Assists Enabled (information valid only in              reply                                                                         frames).                                                                 CNT  Count Field - 2 byte field (unsigned integer) contains the number             of                                                                            parameters that are included in the command data field.                  DATA RC code dependent data                                                   __________________________________________________________________________

QIPASST--Query IP Assist function

One of the commands provided by the present invention is a SET IPAssist. The IP Assist command designed for high performance LAN/WANconnections allows the dynamic configuration of IP functions in gatewaydevices and enables virtual IP addressing. TCP-UDP/IP will use thiscommand to query the channel or integrated platform which TCP-UDP/IPfunctions on the device are available. This allows TCP-UDP/IP toindividually select which functions it desires to use. The SET IP Assist(SETASSTPARMS) function allows TCP/IP to support multiple devices whichin turn can support multiple levels of IP Assist functions. TCP/IP canspecify different IP functions for each configured IP address with theSET IP ASSIST function. This adds considerable flexibility to TCP/IP.Special IP ASSISTs which are more useful for specific IP addressesconfigured for Web Serving can specify specific IP ASSISTs which aredesigned for Web Serving.

FIG. 5 provides some of the functions supported and used by TCP/IP andon the OSA platform. These assist functions include ARP, InboundChecksum, Outbound Checksum and IP Fragmentation/Reassembly. The IPAssist functions are designed to shorten the Host code path length andimprove the performance of TCP/IP. By providing a command which can beused to query the communication adapters, individual IP sessions whichrun through the adapter can be setup to use the fast path and the otherIP sessions can use the normal path. Again a list of the functionsavailable is kept on the port-sharing table and those that becomeavailable or unavailable are masked off appropriately. In this way it iseasy to determine at once which functions are supported by the system atany one time very efficiently.

The following tables highlight the information originally obtained(Table 2A) and information relayed back to the host (Table 2B). Notethat the information provided in FIG. 5 highlighting OSA supportedfunctions ARP, Inbound Checksum, Outbound Checksum and IPFragmentation/Reassembly are only for demonstration purposes. The set offunctions can be customized to include more or less elements selectivelyas applications require.

                                      TABLE 2A                                    __________________________________________________________________________    QIPASST Command Structure                                                     __________________________________________________________________________     B2                                                                               00                                                                               nnnnn                                                                             0000                                                                              LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              VER                                          0  1  2   4   6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                        __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        nnnnn                                                                             Sequence Number Field - two byte field containing a S/390                     integer sequence counter. Each command initiator maintains its own            sequence count, which starts at zero for the first command, and is            serially incremented (by one) for each subsequent command. The                response string will contain the same sequence number echoed back.        LT  Adapter type code - one byte field indicating the adapter type code           1 = Ethernet                                                                  2 = Token Ring                                                                7 = FDDI                                                                  LN  Retative adapter number - one byte field indicating thc retative              adapter                                                                       number                                                                    VER 2 byte field - version supported for this command (valid entries are          4 (IP V4), or 6 (IP V6)).                                                 __________________________________________________________________________

                                      TABLE 2B                                    __________________________________________________________________________    QUERYIP Reply Command Structure                                               __________________________________________________________________________     B2                                                                               00                                                                               nnnnn                                                                             RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              ASTS                                                                              ASTE                                                                              VER                                           0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                         __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        nnnnn                                                                             Sequence Number Field - two byte field containing a S/390                     integer sequence counter. Each command initiator maintains its own            sequence count, which starts at zero for the first command, and is            serially incremented (by one) for each subsequent command. The                response string will contain the same sequence number echoed back.        RC  Command return code. 2 byte field indicating the return code                  status.                                                                       RC values:                                                                    0x0000 = Success                                                              0x0001 = Command Not Supported                                                0xE003 = Incorrect LAN Type or Number                                     LT  Adapter type code - one byte field indicating the adapter type code.          1 = Ethernet                                                                  2 = Token Ring                                                                7 = FDDI                                                                  LN  Relative adapter number - one byte field indicating the relative              adapter                                                                       number.                                                                   VER 2 byte field version supported for this command (valid entries are            4 (IP V4) or 6 (IP V6)).                                                  ASTS                                                                              16 bit field - TCP/IP Assists supported (informafion valid only in            reply                                                                         frames). The bit fields are defined as follows (bit on signifies              supported)                                                                    Assist List:                                                              Arp Processing   bit 0 (0x0001)                                               Inbound Checksum Support                                                                       bit 1 (0x0002)                                               Outbound Checksum Support                                                                      bit 2 (0x0004)                                               IP Fragmentation/Reassembly                                                                    bit 3 (0x0008)                                               Filtering        bit 4 (0x0010)                                               IP V6 Support    bit 5 (0x0020)                                               ASTE                                                                              16 bit field - TCP/IP Assists Enabled (information valid only in              reply                                                                         frames).                                                                  __________________________________________________________________________

SETASSTPARMS--Set IP Assist (Parameters)

The SETASSTPARMS command is used by the host IP stack and all the IPapplications (i.e. TCP/IP, UDP/IP etc.) to enable the particular assistsdesired and to specify the parameters needed by the particular assiststhat are being implemented in the channel, integrated or OSA specificplatforms. Examples of these parameters is the setting of the size ofthe ARP Cache, or the protocols that will be filtered if BroadcastFiltering is implemented. When used with an OSA adapter, the OSA adapterwill just discard the broadcast packet when it has been received. The IPprotocols include RIP (Routing Information Protocol, SNMP (SimpleNetwork Management Protocol) and BGP (Border Gateway Protocol). Thiscommand allows the user not only to query about the functions that areavailable but to selectively pick and choose these functions. Tables 3Aand 3B are representative of the information obtained and informationreturned respectively. Tables 3C and 3D represent some of the commandsavailable and the responses returned.

                                      TABLE 3A                                    __________________________________________________________________________    SETASSTPARMS Command Structure                                                __________________________________________________________________________     B3                                                                               00                                                                               nnnnn                                                                             0000                                                                              LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              VER                                                                               Assist                                                                            Assist                                                                            Assist                                                                Number                                                                            Options                                                                           Parms                            0  1  2   4   6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                        //--                                                                          __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        nnnnn   Sequence Number Field - two byte field containing a S/390                     integer sequence counter. Each command initiator maintains its                own                                                                           sequence count, which starts at zero for the first command, and               is                                                                            serially incremented (by one) for each subsequent command. The                response string will contain the same sequence number echoed                  back.                                                                 LT      Adapter type code - one byte field indicating the adapter type                code.                                                                         1 = Ethernet                                                                  2 = Token Ring                                                                7 = FDDI                                                              LN      Relative adapter number - one byte field indicating the relative              adapter                                                                       number.                                                               VER     2 byte field - version supported for this command (valid entries              are                                                                           4 (IP V4) or 6 (IP V6)).                                              Assist Number                                                                         Number                                                                            Description                                                               0x0001                                                                            ARP Assist                                                                0x0002                                                                            Inbound CheckSum Support                                                  0x0004                                                                            OutBound CheckSum Support                                                 0x0008                                                                            IP Frag/Reassemble                                                        0x0010                                                                            Frame Filtering                                                           0x0020                                                                            IP V6 Support                                                     Assist Options                                                                        Assist Specific - refer to table below                                Assist Parameters                                                                     Assist Specific - refer to table below                                __________________________________________________________________________

                                      TABLE 3B                                    __________________________________________________________________________    SETASSTPARMS Reply Command Structure                                          __________________________________________________________________________     B3                                                                               00                                                                               nnnnn                                                                             RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              ASTS                                                                              ASTE                                                                              VER                                                                               ASN                                                                               ASO                                                                               RC                                                                               Data                           0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16  18  20 24                              __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        nnnnn                                                                              Sequence Number Field - two byte field containing a S/390                     integer sequence counter. Each command initiator maintains its own            sequence count, which starts at zero for the first command, and is            serially incremented (by one) for each subsequenl command. The                response string will contain the same sequence number echoed back.       RC   Command return code. 2 byte field indicating the return code                  status.                                                                       RC values:                                                                    0x0000 = Success                                                              0x0001 = Command Not Supported                                                0xE003 = Incorrect LAN Type or Number                                    LT   Adapter type code - one byte field indicating the adapter type                code.                                                                         1 = Ethernet                                                                  2 = Token Ring                                                                7 = FDDI                                                                 LN   Relative adapter number - one byte field indicating the relative              adapter                                                                       number.                                                                  VER  2 byte field - version supported for this command (valid entries              are                                                                           4 (IP V4) or 6 (IP V6)).                                                 ASTS 16 bit field - TCP/IP Assists supported (information valid only in            reply                                                                         frames). The bit fields are defined as follows (bit on signifies              supported)                                                                    Assist List:                                                             Arp Processing    bit 0 (0x0001)                                              Inbound Checksum Support                                                                        bit 1 (0x0002)                                              Outbound Checksum Support                                                                       bit 2 (0x0004)                                              IP Fragmentation/Reassembly                                                                     bit 3 (0x0008)                                              Filtering         bit 4 (0x0010)                                              IP V6 Support     bit 5 (0x0020)                                              ASTE 16 bit field - TCP/IP Assists Enabled (information valid only in              reply                                                                         frames).                                                                 ASN  2 byte field - Assist Number                                             ASO  2 byte fieid - Assist Option                                             RC   4 byte field - Return Code -                                                  0x00000000 - Success                                                          Anything else - command specific failure                                 Data Assist specific data                                                     __________________________________________________________________________

                                      TABLE 3C                                    __________________________________________________________________________    Assist Number                                                                        Assist Command                                                                        Assist Command Description                                                                          Assist Command Parameters                __________________________________________________________________________    ARP    0x0001  Start Assist          None                                     (0x0001)                                                                             0x0002  Stop Assist           None                                            0x0003  Set Number of ARP Cache Entries (Default                                                            4 byte field = number of                                                      entries                                         0x0004  Query ARP Cache Table - returns all entries                                                         None                                                    ARP Cache                                                             0x0005  Add ARP Cache Entry   4 or 16 byte field = IP                                                       address of entry you want to                                                  add                                             0x0006  Remove ARP Cache Entry                                                                              4 or 16 byte field = IP                                                       address of entry you want to                                                  remove                                          0x0007  Flush ARP Table - all ARP Cache Entries are                                                         None                                                    deleted                                                        Inbound                                                                              0x0001  Start Assist          None                                     CheckSum                                                                             0x0002  Stop Assist           None                                     Support                                                                              0x0003  Enable Checksum Frame Types (Bit on enables                                                         None                                     (0x0002)       feature)                                                                      Bit 0 - Enable IP Frame CheckSumming                                          Bit 1 - Enable ICMP Frame CheckSumming                                        Bit 2 - Enable UDP Frame CheckSumming                                         Bit 3 - Enable TCP Frame CheckSumming                                         Bits 4-31 - reserved (set to zero)                             OutBouud                                                                             0x0001  Start Assist          None                                     CheckSum                                                                             0x0002  Stop Assist           None                                     Support                                                                              0x0003  Enable Checksum Frame Types (Bit on enables                                                         None                                     (0x0004)       feature)                                                                      Bit 0 - Enable IP Frame CheckSumming                                          Bit 1 - Enable ICMP Frame CheckSumming                                        Bit 2 - Enable UDP Frame CheckSumming                                         Bit 3 - Enable TCP Frame CheckSumming                                         Bits 4-31 - reserved (set to zero)                             IP     0x0001  Start Assist          None                                     Frag/  0x0002  Stop Assist           None                                     Reassmble                                                                     Support                                                                       (0x0008)                                                                      Filtering                                                                            0x0001  Start Assist          None                                     Support                                                                              0x0002  Stop Assist           None                                     (0x0010)                                                                             0x0003  What Frames to Filter (32 Bit field)                                                                None                                                    (Turn bit on to enable filtering)                                             Bit 0 - ARP Frames (This bit is turned on                                     automatically if the ARP Assist                                               is enabled)                                                                   Bit 1 - RARP Frames                                                           Bit 2 - ICMP Frames                                                           Bit 3 - IP Frames                                                             Bit 4 - IPX/SPX Frames                                                        Bit 5 - RIP Frames                                                            Bit 6 - BGP Frames                                                            Bit 7 - UDP Frames                                                            Bit 8 - TCP Frames                                                            Bit 9 - SNMP Frames                                                           Bit 10 - Mutlicast Frames                                                     Bit 11 - BroadCast Frames                                                     Bit 12-31 - Reserved                                           IP V6  0x0001  Start Assist          None                                     Support                                                                              0x0002  Stop Assist           None                                     (0x0020)                                                                             0x0003  What Functions to Support (32 Bit field)                                                            None                                                    (Turn bit on to enable)                                                       Bit 0 - Allow V6 Traffic                                                      Bit 1 - Allow V4 Traffic                                                      Bit 2 - Translate V4 to V6 Model                                              Bit 3 - Translate V6 to V4 Model                                              Bit 4 - 31 Reserved                                            __________________________________________________________________________

                                      TABLE 3D                                    __________________________________________________________________________    SETASSTPARMS Reply Command Options                                                                                 Assist Data (Reply) -                    Assist Number                                                                        Assist Command                                                                        Assist Command Description                                                                          (least significant 2                     __________________________________________________________________________                                         bytes)                                   ARP    0x0001  Start Assist          RC - 0x0000 - Success                    (0x0001)                             0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - None                                     0x0002  Stop Assist           RC - 0x0000 - Success                                                         0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - None                                     0x0003  Set Number of ARP Cache Entries (Default                                                            RC - 0x0000 - Success                                                         0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        0x0003 - Out of Range                                                         Data - if RC = 0x0003 return                                                  4 bytes - max number                                                          of entries supported                            0x0004  Query ARP Cache Table - returns all entries                                                         RC - 0x0000 - Success                                   ARP Cache             0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - if non failing RC -                                                    returns ARP Cache Table                         0x0005  Add ARP Cache Entry   RC - 0x0000 - Success                                                         0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - returns ARP Cache                                                      Entry                                           0x0006  Remove ARP Cache Entry                                                                              RC - 0x0000 - Success                                                         0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - returns ARP Cache                                                      Entry                                           0x0007  Flush ARP Table - all ARP Cache Entries are                                                         RC - 0x0000 - Success                                   deleted               0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - None                              Inbound                                                                              0x0001  Start Assist          RC - 0x0000 - Success                    CheckSum                             0x0001 - Failed                          Support                              0x0002 - Not Supported                   (0x0002)                             Data - None                                     0x0002  Stop Assist           RC - 0x0000 - Success                                                         0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - None                                     0x0003  Enable Checksum Frame Types (Bit on enables                                                         RC - 0x0000 - Success                                   feature)              0x0001 - Failed                                         Bit 0 - Enable IP Frame CheckSumming                                                                0x0002 - Not Supported                                  Bit 1 - Enable ICMP Frame CheckSumming                                                              Data - 4 bytes with least 4                             Bit 2 - Enable UDP Frame CheckSumming                                                               significant bits representing                           Bit 3 - Enable TCP Frame CheckSumming                                                               what Checksumming support                               Bits 4-31 - reserved (set to zero)                                                                  is available                             Outbound                                                                             0x0001  Start Assist          RC - 0x0000 - Success                    CheckSum                             0x0001 -Failed                           Support                              0x0002 - Not Supported                   (0x0004)                             Data - None                                     0x0002  Stop Assist           RC - 0x0000 - Success                                                         0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - None                                     0x0003  Enable Checksum Frame Types (Bit on enables                                                         RC - 0x0000 - Success                                   feature)              0x0001 - Failed                                         Bit 0 - Enable IP Frame CheckSumming                                                                0x0002 - Not Supported                                  Bit 1 - Enable ICMP Frame CheckSumming                                                              Data - 4 bytes with least 4                             Bit 2 - Enable UDP Frame CheckSumming                                                               significant bits representing                           Bit 3 - Enable TCP Frame CheckSumming                                                               what Checksumming support                               Bits 4-31 - reserved (set to zero)                                                                  is available                             IP     0x0001  Start Assist          RC - 0x0000 - Success                    Frag/                                0x0001 - Failed                          Reassmble                            0x0002 - Not Supported                   Support                              Data - None                              (0x0008)                                                                             0x0002  Stop Assist           RC - 0x0000 - Success                                                         0x0001 -Failed                                                                0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - None                              Filtering                                                                            0x0001  Start Assist          RC - 0x0000 - Success                    Support                              0x0001 - Failed                          (0x0010)                             0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - None                                     0x0002  Stop Assist           RC - 0x0000 - Success                                                         0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - None                                     0x0003  What Frames to Filter (32 Bit field)                                                                RC - 0x0000 - Success                                   (Turn bit on to enable filtering)                                                                   0x0001 - Failed                                         Bit 0 - ARP Frames (This bit is turned on                                                           0x0002 - Not Supported                                  automatically if the ARP Assist                                                                     Data - 4 bytes with least 12                            is enabled)           significant bits representing                           Bit 1 - RARP Frames   what Filtering support is                               Bit 2 - ICMP Frames   available                                               Bit 3 - IP Frames                                                             Bit 4 - IPX/SPX Frames                                                        Bit 5 - RIP Frames                                                            Bit 6 - BGP Frames                                                            Bit 7 - UDP Frames                                                            Bit 8 - TCP Frames                                                            Bit 9 - SNMP Frames                                                           Bit 10 - Mutlicast Frames                                                     Bit 11 - BroadCast Frames                                                     Bit 12-31 - Reserved                                           IP V6  0x0001  Start Assist          RC - 0x0000 - Success                    Support                              0x0001 - Failed                          (0x0020)                             0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - None                                     0x0002  Stop Assist           RC - 0x0000 - Success                                                         0x0001 - Failed                                                               0x0002 - Not Supported                                                        Data - None                                     0x0003  What Functions to Support (32 Bit field)                                                            RC - 0x0000 - Success                                   (Turn bit on to enable)                                                                             0x0001 - Failed                                         Bit 0 - Attow V6 Traffic                                                                            0x0002 - Not Supported                                  Bit 1 - Allow V4 Traffic                                                                            Data - 4 bytes with least 4                             Bit 2 - Translate V4 to V6 Model                                                                    significant bits representing                           Bit 3 - Translate V6 to V4 Model                                                                    what function support is                                Bit 4-31 Reserved     available                                __________________________________________________________________________

MULTI-PATH CHANNELS--An alternate embodiment

MPC or multi-path channel protocol is a highly efficient data transferinterface developed to replace LCS by IBM Corp. of Armonk, N.Y. MPC canbe implemented in the TCP/IP or VTAM layer; it can also be implementedusing Novell based systems. In the existing systems when Host A wants tosend data to the gateway or another host, it will wait and collect allinformation that has to be sent in preselected sizes. This waiting andgrouping of data is called "blocking". On the receiving side, thisblocked data has to be "deblocked" to distinguish between the individualcommands or data.

The existing LCS protocol provides an efficient method of transferringdata across the I/O subsystem by blocking multiple LAN frames togetherin one long chain. However, to provide this interface the LCS protocolis required to use the host processor to copy all the LAN Media Headersand all the application data into one contiguous block before performingthe data transfer across the I/O subsystem. Also the LCS must prependeach LAN frame in the block with a four byte LCS header. This header isneeded by the "deblocker" application running on the channel attachedplatform. The "deblocker" application uses the header to remove theindividual LAN frames from the LCS block and send them to the LAN. Thismakes very inefficient use of the host's memory and creates extralatency for the user data. The current LCS interface also requires thedevice drivers to build the LAN Media Headers. The data passed to LCSmust be in the exact format of the data which is to be transferred tothe LAN. This requires all applications using the LAN interface to knowwhich LAN type the data is being transferred to along with thedestination LAN MAC addresses. One unique device driver must be writtenfor each LAN type to which the application is connected.

The MPC protocol uses a new type of "blocked" data stream known asDiscontiguous Protocol Data Units or DPDUs. This new data streaminterface allows the header or control information to be in a separatememory area from the user data as it is transferred to the I/Osubsystem. This eliminates the need to copy all the LAN media Headersand the application data into one contiguous area. For VTAMapplications, a Macro interface has been provided to use when sendingdata across the MPC connection. The interface allows the application tospecify a buffer list. Each entry in the buffer list corresponds to oneportion of the discontiguous user data. MPC uses Protocol Data Unit orPDU headers to point at the various portions of the discontiguous userdata. Each PDU will contain a list of the PDU elements. Each PDU elementwill point to one of the entries in the buffer list.

To address the special needs arising from the new MPC protocol manner ofhandling data streams, an alternate embodiment of the present inventionis required and presented here. The three command concepts explainedearlier, namely SET IP Address, Query IP and Set IP Assist (parameters)are adjusted to function with the MPC's new requirement. The result iscomplementary functions SET IPX Address, Query IPX and SETASSTPARMS IPX.

Similar to SET IP Address command, the Set IPX Address command (usedprimarily but not exclusively with Novell's IPX communication protocol)also to associate an IP address with a specific user session. Thecommand is initiated by the user. Once the command is received, thegateway device quickly searches its existing port-sharing tables to seeif the particular IP address is included or not, and alterations,additions or modifications are made if an exact match is not found.However, in the SET IPX Address scenario the only information providedto the gateway device is the LAN port number and id. All otherinformation including a MAC address (as one is necessary in thisscenario), MTU size and even the LAN type is provided by the gatewaydevice itself from the port-sharing tables. The following tables providethe specifics of the exchange of information between the host and thegateway device. Notice that all necessary headers including a MAC Headeris either dissected or returned by the gateway device as required. TableX1 A and X1 B below shows the IPX command requirements and returnedinformation.

                                      TABLE X1 A                                  __________________________________________________________________________    SETIPX Command Format                                                         __________________________________________________________________________     C1                                                                               00                                                                               nnnn                                                                              00                                                                               00                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              MTU                                       0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                         __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        C1  SETIPX command                                                            nnnn                                                                              Sequence Number filed                                                     LN  LAN Number to be used by IPX on the OSA Adapter                           MTU IPX Maximum Transmission Unit for this connection. This                       is a four byte field stating the maximum frame size which                     can be transmitted on this LAN/WAN segment. A value                           of 0xFFFFFFFF implies the MTU value used will be the                          returned by OSA on the SETIPX response shown below.                       __________________________________________________________________________

                                      TABLE X1 B                                  __________________________________________________________________________    The OSA Command Response Format is as follows:                                __________________________________________________________________________     C1                                                                               00                                                                               nnnn                                                                              RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              MAC                                                                               0000                                                                              MTU                               0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16  22  24  28                             __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        nnnn                                                                              Sequence number matching the SETIPX request                               RC  Return code (Status) from OSA Adapter                                     LT  LAN Type associated with the LAN Port selected on the SETIPX request      LN  LAN Number which was specified with the SETIPX request                    MAC MAC Address of OSA LAN Port                                               MTU Supported MTU value on the OSA adapter                                    __________________________________________________________________________

Tables X1 C and X1 D below reflect two new sub-command functions the IPXBind and UNBIND. Binding is a function that allows the supporting ofdifferent LAN types on one computing network environment. The Bindfunction allows the association of particular LAN frame types to agateway or the physical port. Unbind function is used when a host IPXconnection terminates or is shutdown. The Bind command allows one NovellIPX device driver running on the host to support multiple LAN typesalong with multiple frame types within a specific LAN type. Prior tothis implementation, one device driver was necessary for each LAN typeand each frame type within a specific LAN type. For example, one devicedriver can now support an Ethernet-SNAP and Ethernet-802.2 frame type.

IPXBIND

The IPX BIND command is used to BIND a Frame Type to the OSA LAN Port.

The Command Format is as follows:

                                      TABLE X1 C                                  __________________________________________________________________________     C2                                                                               00                                                                               nnnn                                                                              00                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              SAP                                       0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                         __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        C2   IPX BIND command                                                         nnnn Sequence Number filed                                                    LT   LAN Type of port                                                         LN   LAN Number                                                               SAP  Novells Service Advertising Protocol. This protocol is used by                a Client machine to determine what servers are available on                   the Network.                                                             __________________________________________________________________________

IPXUNBIND

                                      TABLE X1 D                                  __________________________________________________________________________     C3                                                                               00                                                                               nnnn                                                                              RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              SAP                                       0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                         __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        C3   IPX UNBIND Command                                                       nnnn Sequence Number filed                                                    RC   Return Code returned from OSA                                            LT   LAN Type of port                                                         LN   LAN Number                                                               __________________________________________________________________________

Subsequent Bind and Unbind commands as reflected in tables X1 E and X1 Fbelow are also used to add even additional information, for exampleadditional SAP parameters. These functions are used in a manner similarto the original bind and unbind function.

IPXSUBBIND

The IPX Subsequent BIND command is used to specify additional SAPinformation to the OSA adapter. The Subsequent BIND command may or maynot immediately follow the IPX BIND command. Once the Subsequent BINDcommand has been processed, IPX RIP and SAP frames will be forwarded tothe operating system (MVS).

The format of the IPX Subsequent BIND command is as follows:

                                      TABLE X1 E                                  __________________________________________________________________________     C4                                                                               00                                                                               nnnn                                                                              RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              More                                                                         SAP                                        0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                         __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        C4   IPX Subsequent Bind Command                                              nnnn Sequence Number filed                                                    RC   Return Code returned from OSA                                            LT   LAN Type of port                                                         LN   LAN Number                                                               More SAP                                                                           More SAP information                                                     __________________________________________________________________________

IPXSUBUNBIND

                                      TABLE X1 F                                  __________________________________________________________________________     C5                                                                               00                                                                               nnnn                                                                              RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               CNT                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              Other                                     0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                         __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        C5   IPX Subsequent UNBIND Network Command                                    nnnn Sequence Number filed                                                    RC   Return Code returned from OSA                                            LT   LAN Type of port                                                         LN   LAN Number                                                               __________________________________________________________________________

IPX Bind net command (table X1 G) reflects a command used to passnetwork numbers associated with the operating system to thecommunication platform. Once a Network Number is specified, then all IPXtraffic will be allowed to flow through the IPX connection. The networknumber will be used to route all non-RIP and non-SAP frames to theproper IPX connection. (RIP and SAP being two functions that aresupported in this embodiment.)

FIG. 7B shows the flow of data back and forth from the gateway devicefor the functions described. Below, Table X1 G shows an example of thisfor MVS operating system and OSA platform. IPX Unbind net, shown attable X1 H, below is similar to other unbind commands.

IPXBINDNET

The IPX BIND Network Command is used to pass the IPX Network Numbersassociated with the MVS Netware Stack to the OSA adapter. Once thiscommand has been processed all IPX frames can be forwarded to the MVSIPX Stack(s).

The format of the IPX BIND Network command is as follows:

                                      TABLE X1 G                                  __________________________________________________________________________     C6                                                                               00                                                                               nnnn                                                                              RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               CNT                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              NN(s)                                     0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                         __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        C6   IPX BIND Network Command                                                 nnnn Sequence Number filed                                                    RC   Return Code returned from OSA                                            LT   LAN Type of port                                                         LN   LAN Number                                                               CNT  The count of Network numbers in the Data field                           NN   IPX Network Number(s). Each Network Number is 4                               bytes is length. The CNT field indicates the                                  number of Network Numbers present in this field                          __________________________________________________________________________

IPXUNBINDNET

                                      TABLE X1 H                                  __________________________________________________________________________     C7                                                                               00                                                                               nnnn                                                                              RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              Other                                     0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                         __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        C7   IPX UNBIND Network Command                                               nnnn Sequence Number filed                                                    RC   Return Code returned from OSA                                            LT   LAN Type of port                                                         LN   LAN Number                                                               __________________________________________________________________________

The SET IPX Assist function is also similar to the IP Assist commandfunctions in that they are both designed for high performance LAN/WANconnections and allow the dynamic configuration of IPX address ingateway devices. As stated before MPC works both with the TCP/IP andother communications protocol including NetBios as well as the Novelprotocol stacks and drivers. As a consequence the number of functionsavailable for the user is more involved. However, again through thepre-established port-sharing tables, it is determined and known to thegateway device as which functions are supported by the device. The setof functions are different in this section and RIP and SAP functions areadded to the list of functions available, while other functionsspecified before with the exception of broadcast filtering may not beavailable.

Table X2 is reflective of this.

    __________________________________________________________________________    FIG. X2 - QIPXASST - Request and Reply Command Format                         __________________________________________________________________________    Request Format                                                                __________________________________________________________________________     CA                                                                               00                                                                               nnnnn                                                                             0000                                                                              LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              VER                                          0  1  2   4   6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                        __________________________________________________________________________    Reply Format                                                                  __________________________________________________________________________     CA                                                                               00                                                                               nnnnn                                                                             RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              ASTS                                                                              ASTE                                                                              VER                                           0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                         __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        nnnnn                                                                              Sequence Number Field - two byte field containing a S/390 Integer             Sequence                                                                 LT   Adapter type code - one byte field indicating the adapter type                code.                                                                         1 = Ethernet/Fast Ethernet                                                    2 = Token Ring                                                                7 = FDDI                                                                 LN   Relative adapter number - one byte field indicating the relative              adapter                                                                       number.                                                                  VER  2 byte field - IPX Version Supported                                     RC   Command return code. 2 byte field indicating the return code                  status.                                                                       RC values:                                                                    0x0000 = Success                                                              0x0001 = Command Not Supported                                                0xF003 = Incorrect LAN Type or Number                                    ASTS 16 bit field - IPX Assists supported (information valid only in               reply                                                                         frames). The bit fields are defined as follows (bit on signifies              supported)                                                                    Assist List:                                                             RIP Assist         bit 0 (0x0001)                                             SAP Assist         bit 1 (0x0002)                                             Frame Filtering    bit 2 (0x0004)                                             Host to Host Routing Setup                                                                       bit 3 (0x0008)                                             Extended IPX Version Support                                                                     bit 4 (0x0010)                                                  (Bits 5-15 are reserved for future use)                                  ASTE 16 bit field - IPX Assists Enabled (information valid only in reply           frames).                                                                 __________________________________________________________________________

The SETASSTPARMS IPX command is used in a similar manner to its IPcounterpart. It is designed to allow the user to select among theappropriately available functions. As before, this command allows theuser not only to query about the functions that are available but toselectively pick and choose these functions. Tables X3 is representativeof the information obtained and information returned respectively.

    __________________________________________________________________________    FIG. X3 - SETIPXASSTPARMS Reply and Request Command Format                    __________________________________________________________________________    Request Format                                                                __________________________________________________________________________     CB                                                                               00                                                                               nnnnn                                                                             0000                                                                              LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              0000                                                                              0000                                                                              VER                                                                               Assist                                                                            Assist                                                                            Assist                                                                Number                                                                            Options                                                                           Parms                            0  1  2   4   6  7  8   10  12  14  16                                        //--                                                                          __________________________________________________________________________    Reply Format                                                                  __________________________________________________________________________     CB                                                                               00                                                                               nnnnn                                                                             RC                                                                               LT                                                                               LN                                                                               0000                                                                              ASTS                                                                              ASTE                                                                              VER                                                                               ASN                                                                               ASO                                                                               RC                                                                               Data                           0  1  2   4  6  7  8   10  12  14  16  18  20 24                              __________________________________________________________________________    Where:                                                                        nnnnn                                                                              Sequence Number Field - two byte field containing a S/390 Integer             Sequence                                                                 LT   Adapter type code - one byte field indicating the adapter type                code.                                                                         1 = Ethernet/Fast Ethernet                                                    2 = Token Ring                                                                7 = FDDI                                                                 LN   Relative adapter number - one byte field indicating the relative              adapter                                                                       number.                                                                  VER  2 byte field - IPX/SPX Version supported.                                Assists Supported (ASTS) - Assist Enabled (ASTE) - 16 bit Fields              Number      Description                                                       0x0001 (Bit 0)                                                                            RIP Assist                                                        0x0002 (Bit 1)                                                                            SAP Assist                                                        0x0004 (Bit 2)                                                                            Frame Filtering                                                   0x0008 (Bit 3)                                                                            Host to Host Routing Setup                                        0x0010 (Bit 4)                                                                            Extended IPX Version Support                                      Bits 5-15   Reserved                                                          Assist Options - Assist Specific                                              Assist Parameters - Assist Specific                                           ASN  2 byte field - Assist Number                                             ASO  2 byte field - Assist Option                                             RC   Command return code. 2 byte field indicating the return code status           0x0000 = Success                                                              0x0001 = Command Not Supported                                                0xE003 = Incorrect LAN Type or Number                                    Data Assist specific data                                                     __________________________________________________________________________

In closing of this section, it should be noted that the new routingmechanism suggested by the teachings of the present invention isworkable for the MPC protocol as well. Again, through the port-sharingtables it is possible to route messages directly from Host A to Host Bwithout having to access the LAN. It is as before the gateway devicethat controls and monitors the configurations of the host devices. Asbefore, this routing mechanism can be implemented in a loosely coupledenvironment, such as a Sysplex, for sending any type of data between anytwo hosts and especially without involving any LAN/WAN connections.

Blocking IP Datagrams in an MPC Point-to-point Environment

FIG. 6 shows the blocking of data in the existing systems. Block Header610 shows the start of a new data batch. Each block header 610 isusually followed by the appropriate MAC Header and LLC shown at 612 and614. The Protocol header and the Protocol data follow as shown in 616and 618. A new block of data is shown at 620 and 630. Usually theapplications receive user data which is to be sent to the LAN in a databuffer. The applications send the user data to the protocol layer. UsingMPC, the protocol layers device drivers can now build the LAN Mediaheaders in a separate buffer area and pass a buffer list to the MPCMacro interface. MPC will then build one PDU with two PDU elements torepresent the LAN frame. This design, however, also creates someinefficiencies. First, each PDU header built by the VTAM or similarprotocols is lengthy, usually having a length of 28 bytes plus the PDUelement headers are each 8 bytes in length, normally. This translatesinto a confined, usually 44 (28+8+8) header being built for each LANframe being sent by the application. This is compared to the 4 byte LCSheader associated with each LAN frame. Second, the protocol stacks muststill build the LAN Media headers and be knowledgeable of the LAN Mediato which the data is being transmitted. One unique Device Driver must bewritten on the Host to support each unique LAN type. LCS has the samerequirement. Building the LAN Media headers requires the allocation of aspecial buffer and the moving of the LAN specific data into this buffer.MPC must also build a separate PDU element for the headers.

The present invention also teaches an interface layer composed ofsoftware to be placed between the protocol stacks and MPC. This layerhas a timer to wait for data from the protocol stacks. As data buffersare received, a buffer list is assembled. The buffer list contains oneentry for each data buffer received. After the timer expires, the bufferlist is then transferred to the MPC layer. The MPC layer then places theentire buffer list which contains multiple data buffers from a protocolin one PDU. The data will be transmitted across the I/O Subsystem in oneCCW chain, arriving at the channel attached processor as one "block".

Since the data contained inside the one "block" received from MPC codecontains application data from a protocol stack, the protocol headerscontain the length of each data element. The "deblocker" code running onthe channel attached processor uses the length fields in the protocolheaders to determine the offset of the next data element in the block.This eliminates the need for a special header to point at the next dataelement which is used by the LCS protocol.

The blocking of multiple protocol data elements in one PDU also improvesthe efficiency of the data transfer. In this case, only one PDU headerneeds to be processed for one group of "n" protocol data elements.Previously, one PDU header needed to be processed for each protocol dataelement.

To further improve the efficiency, the requirement of building LAN Mediaheaders can also be removed with the present invention, from theprotocol device drivers. The protocol device drivers just append thedestination address on the local LAN as required for each specificprotocol. The protocol stacks no longer need to have a unique devicedriver for each unique LAN connection. One device driver can now be usedfor all LAN connections. This requirement was removed by placing code inthe channel attached platform which builds the LAN Media headers. TheLAN media headers are built as the protocol data is removed from theblock by the "deblocker" code.

While the invention has been described in detail herein in accordancewith certain preferred embodiments thereof, many modifications andchanges therein may be effected by those skilled in the art.Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all suchmodifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope ofthe invention.

We claim:
 1. In a computing network environment having a gateway devicewith an associated communication platform of a specific media protocol,and also having at least one initiating host and at least one receivinghost, said at least one initiating host and at least one receiving hostbeing electronically connected to said gateway device, a method ofdynamically providing a host with information about functions supportedby said gateway device, said method comprising:specifying possiblefunctions supported by said gateway device and storing said possiblefunctions in a special function table accessible by said gateway device;querying which particular functions of said possible functions areactually supported by said gateway device; identifying in said specialfunction table which of said gateway device's particular functions arecommunication functions presently supported by said at least oneinitializing host; dynamically monitoring alterations, additions anddeletions from said communications functions supported by saidinitiating host and making necessary modifications in said specialfunction table so that said table is kept updated with which of saidparticular functions supported by said gateway device are communicationfunctions supported by said initiating host; and allowing said at leastone initiating host connected to said gateway device to obtain a list ofwhich of said particular functions supported by said gateway device arecommunication functions supported by an initiating host of said at leastone initiating host at any one time.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid communication platform is an integrated platform.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said communication platform is an open systems adapterplatform.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said computing environmentuses TCP/IP communication protocol.
 5. The method of claim 3, whereinsaid computing environment uses UDP/IP communication protocol.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said computing environment uses TCP/IPcommunication protocol.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said platformcommunication protocol is LCS or LAN Channel Station interface protocol.8. The method of claim 1, wherein said computing environment uses MVSoperating system.
 9. The method of claim 4, wherein said functionssupported by open system adapter can include Inbound TCP Checksum. 10.The method of claim 5, wherein said functions supported by open systemadapter can include Inbound UDP Checksum.
 11. The method of claim 4,wherein said functions supported by open system adapter can include IPFragmentation/Reassembly.
 12. The method of claim 4, wherein saidfunctions supported by open system adapter can include IP Multicast. 13.The method of claim 4, wherein said functions supported by open systemadapter can include IP Version Support.
 14. The method of claim 4,wherein said functions supported by open system adapter can include IPVersion 6 Support.
 15. The method of claim 4, wherein said functionssupported by open system adapter can include Broadcast Filtering. 16.The method of claim 4, wherein said functions supported by open systemadapter can include ARP.
 17. In a computing network environment having agateway device with an associated communication platform of a specificmedia protocol, and also having at least one initiating host and atleast one receiving host, said at least one initiating host and at leastone receiving host being electrically connected to said gateway device,a method of dynamically providing a host with information aboutfunctions supported by said gateway device, said methodcomprising:specifying possible functions supported by said gatewaydevice and storing said possible functions in a special function tableaccessible by said gateway device; querying which particular functionsof said possible functions are actually supported by said gatewaydevice; identifying in said special function table which of said gatewaydevice's particular functions are communication functions presentlysupported by said at least one initializing host; dynamically monitoringalterations, additions and deletions from said communications functionssupported by said initiating host and making necessary modifications insaid special function table so that said table is kept updated withwhich of said particular functions supported by said gateway device arecommunication functions supported by said initiating host; allowing saidat least one initiating host connected to said gateway device to obtaina list of which of said particular functions supported by said gatewaydevice are communication functions supported by an initiating host ofsaid at least one initiating host at any one time; and allowing said atleast one initiating host to select any one of said particular functionssupported by said gateway device at any one time by issuing a commandafter obtaining a list of said particular functions supported by saidgateway device.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said communicationplatform is an integrated platform.
 19. The method of claim 17, whereinsaid communication platform is an open systems adapter platform.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, wherein said computing environment uses TCP/IPcommunication protocol.
 21. The method of claim 19, wherein saidcomputing environment uses UDP/IP communication protocol.
 22. The methodof claim 17, wherein said computing environment uses TCP/IPcommunication protocol.
 23. The method of claim 17, wherein saidplatform communication protocol is LCS or LAN Channel Station interfaceprotocol.
 24. The method of claim 17, wherein said computing environmentuses MVS operating system.
 25. The method of claim 20, wherein saidfunctions supported by open system adapter can include Inbound TCPChecksum.
 26. The method of claim 21, wherein said functions supportedby open system adapter can include Inbound UDP Checksum.
 27. The methodof claim 20, wherein said functions supported by open system adapter caninclude IP Fragmentation/Reassembly.
 28. The method of claim 20, whereinsaid functions supported by open system adapter can include IPMulticast.
 29. The method of claim 20, wherein said functions supportedby open system adapter can include IP Version Support.
 30. The method ofclaim 20, wherein said functions supported by open system adapter caninclude IP Version 6 Support.
 31. The method of claim 20, wherein saidfunctions supported by open system adapter can include BroadcastFiltering.
 32. The method of claim 20, wherein said functions supportedby open system adapter can include ARP.
 33. The method of claim 17,wherein said gateway device is connected to a plurality of local areanetworks.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein said local area networkseach are of different media protocol.
 35. The method of claim 17,wherein said gateway device is electrically connected to at least onewide area network.